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DANCING  AND  THE  DRAMA  EAST 
AND  WEST  BY  STELLA  BLOCH  WITH 
AN  INTRODUCTION  BY  ANANDA 
COOMARASWAMY 


ORIENTALIA,  NEW  YORK,  1922 


INTRODUCTION 


OWHERE  is  the  genius  of  the  East 
more  clearly  manifested  than  in  the 
theatre*  Miss  Bloch,  who  is  herself  a 
trained  dancer,  speaks  with  authority  on 
what  she  has  seen  in  the  East,  and  it  is  remarkable 
that  almost  every  one  of  her  observations  could  be 
justified  by  reference  to  chapter  and  verse  of  the 
technical  literature* 

The  comparison  of  Eastern  art  with  science  is  like- 
wise well-considered:  for  like  the  scientist,  the 
Oriental  craftsman  aims  at  explicit  demonstration 
rather  than  elegant  procedure,  and  the  intrusion 
of  personal  taste  is  to  be  avoided  in  art  as  the 
intrusion  of  personal  bias  is  avoided  in  science. 
In  setting  forth  the  stories  of  heroes,  or  making 
the  images  of  gods  the  Asiatic  craftsman  has  no 
thought  of  artt  as  we  now  understand  the  word* 
The  primary  qualification  demanded  of  him  was 
obedience:  he  was  not  required  to  be  a  creature 
of  moods,  but  to  know  his  trade.  Not  that  the 
factor  of  devotion  to  the  theme  is  excluded:  on  the 
contrary,  without  such  devotion,  nothing  can  be 


3oazz3  's/rc 


?.  e;  TTCISSN 


done:  but  that  the  theme  is  infinitely  greater  than 
the  man. 


Oriental  art,  moreover,  is  not  an  escape  from  life, 
nor  an  interpretation  of  life  having  any  peculiar 
tendency:  it  is  a  part  of  life  itself  in  the  same  sense 
as  the  art  of  preparing  a  meal  or  designing  a  motor 
car.  It  is  thus  entirely  without  affectation  and  se- 
curely founded  in  real  experience. 

The  art  of  modern  Europe  has  no  such  inner 
necessity.  At  the  best,  its  various  expressions,  as 
Professor  Lethaby  has  remarked,  are  but  one  man 
deep.  Behind  the  Asiatic  craftsman  stands  the  race, 
precisely  as  behind  the  Catholic  priest  there  stands 
the  Church.  Hence  the  power,  a  like  of  the  Oriental 
culture  and  the  Catholic  tradition.  Under  these 
conditions  art  has  existed  from  time  immemorial  as 
an  essence  recognizable  in  every  practical  human 
activity — all  the  arts,  in  fact,  are  useful,  and  none 
is  practised  as  an  end  in  itself. 

"Fine  Art,"  on  the  contrary,  is  a  refinement  upon 
life,  and  by  no  means  inherent  in  life  itself — if  it 
were  otherwise  it  would  be  apparent  in  our  streets, 


our  costume,  kitchen  utensils,  churches,  and  depart- 
ment stores*  We  have  learnt  to  speak  of  "art  for 
art's  sake/'  and  to  leave  it  out  of  our  daily  life,  pre- 
cisely as  we  make  of  religion  a  Sunday  observ- 
ance, and  leave  it  out  of  our  banking  and  mak- 
ing love. 

Miss  Bloch's  discussion  of  the  Asiatic  theatre,  un- 
compromising as  it  may  appear  to  those  who  are 
attached  to  their  illusions  of  the  Mysterious  East, 
shows  that  she  has  grasped  the  underlying  prin- 
ciples of  Asiatic  cultures  and  understands  their 
well-proportioned  architecture:  these  civilizations, 
with  their  arts,  are  as  well  and  directly  fitted  to  the 
needs  of  humanity  as  the  form  of  a  flower  to  the 
needs  of  reproduction*  Nominally  an  essay  on  the 
theatre,  this  is  something  more  than  a  discussion  of 
Oriental  dancing :  it  is  an  introduction  to  the  theory 
of  Asiatic  civilisation. 

ANANDA  COOMARASWAMY. 


Museum  of  Fine  Arts, 
Boston,  December,  1921. 


THE  IDEAL  DRAMA 


T  is  only  at  the  height  of  a  culture  that 
the  architecture  of  true  drama  uplifts 
itself;  at  the  moment  when  temples  are 
built  and  the  epic  arises;  when  life  is 
seen  in  legends  and  these  legends  become  symbols 
and  the  symbols  are  carved  on  stones,  and  the  stones 
built  into  a  palace  for  the  king  or  the  gods*  It  is 
then  that  the  walls  of  a  temple  are  the  manuscript 
of  life  itself*  The  epic  rushes  through  the  lips  of 
every  bard  and  none  intrudes  a  personal  grace  upon 
the  divine  parable* 

Sacrifices  and  rites  are  performed  according  to 
formalities  laid  down  by  the  gods  themselves*  It 
is  in  this  devout  spirit  that  the  carver  learns  the 
craft  of  image-making*  the  singer  prays,  and  the 
philosopher  expounds  the  great  principle*  It  is  in 
this  spirit  that  the  actor  advances  upon  the  stage, 
his  whole  constitution  inspired  by  faith  in  the  ac- 
tion which  he  shall  take  part  in  unfolding* 

For  the  dramatist,  as  for  all  other  craftsmen,  the 
theme  is  already  fixed  and  only  calls  for  orches- 

/ 


tration:  the  manner  of  its  presentation  is  a  tradi- 
tion, and  his  function  lies  in  directing  the  players 
according  to  that  lore  which  accompanies  the  per- 
formance of  the  epic.  His  work  is  that  of  one,  who 
in  obedience  to  an  architect,  supervises  the  build- 
ing of  a  house  and  indicates  to  the  workmen  every 
detail  of  procedure*  Whence  arises  the  superstition 
that  a  plot  merely  set  down  in  words  to  be  spoken  is 
drama?  The  drama  has  no  reserves  and  makes 
x  /  use  of  every  human  device  of  expression.  All  the 
arts  are  in  its  service.  The  dramatist  must  be 
learned  in  the  use  and  combination  of  these  accord- 
ing to  the  severe  laws  set  down  by  the  gods. 

It  is  for  the  multifarious  expressions  of  The  Great 
Tale  that  the  theatre  exists:  for  the  human  pres- 
entation of  the  adventures  of  gods  and  great  men. 
No  imitation  of  everyday  life  shall  be  represented 
here — only  the  doings  of  divinities.  Therefore  the 
drama  is  never  spoken  in  prose,  nor  is  it  realistic 
in  gesture:  it  is  always  danced  and  sung  that  the 
manners  of  gods  and  heroes  may  be  distinguished. 

The  actor's  training  is  one  which  fits  him  to  obey. 


He  has  no  need  for  gifts — passion,  insight  or  judg- 
ment. From  childhood  he  is  trained  in  traditional 
gestures,  song,  and  other  means  of  expression  in 
infinite  combination,  that  he  may  be  prepared  for 
the  directions  of  the  dramatist*  How  far  from  his 
mind  to  add  to,  or  enhance  a  movement!  For  him 
every  minutest  step  has  been  fixed  by  a  law  supe- 
rior to  humanity  itself,  how  much  farther  from 
individual  contrivance! 

To  the  community  the  drama  is  familiar  as  are  the 
words  of  their  prayers,  and  the  manner  of  its  pres- 
entation never  varies.  An  audience  to  such  a  per- 
formance does  not  gather  for  purposes  of  enjoyment 
or  stimulation,  but  out  of  a  need  to  look  upon  life 
without  prejudice  or  passion*  The  drama  is  a  rite, 
not  a  diversion,  a  concentration  upon  life,  and  not  a 
distraction  from  it* 

n 

In  the  light  of  such  a  definition  of  the  theatre, 
Europe  cannot  claim  to  a  suspicion  of  the  true 
drama.  Hers  is  a  destiny  that  heaves  and  surges 
on   the   unsteady   tide   of   individual    contrivance. 


V 


Europe  is  the  domain  of  Art  and  the  whole  activ- 
ity surrounding  the  drama  is  something  utterly  out- 
side of  Art:  for  Art  is  in  its  essence  and  culmina- 
tion an  interpretation  of  life  and  subject  to  the 
prejudice  of  the  individual  artist — but  the  Drama  is 
life  itself  speaking  through  the  crafts  and  by  means 
of  a  whole  inspired  race*  The  individual  interprets 
life  and  produces  Art — a  race  accepts  life  and  creates 
new  forms  of  Life* 

Perhaps  the  most  serious  effort  put  forth  on  the 
modern  European  stage  is  that  of  Isadora  Duncan 
in  the  training  of  her  six  pupils*  But  this  school 
has  achieved  something  far  different  from  the  intent 
that  began  it*  Here  are  six  girls  chosen  in  child- 
hood for  beauty  and  talent,  trained  in  the  art  of 
movement  and  expression  according  to  the  prece- 
dent of  their  master.  They  were  brought  together 
and  disciplined  for  the  purpose  of  fulfilling  a  chorus 
to  Isadora's  leadership*  They  were  to  respond  to 
her  gesture  unanimously  as  the  grasses  of  the 
meadow  sway  to  the  wind*  It  would  have  been 
an  architecture  like  that  of  the  Greek  drama*  But 
such  things  are  not  achieved  by  deliberation*  how- 


Isadora  Duncan 


ever  profound — nor  are  they  the  fruit  of  individual 
endeavor,  and  Isadora's  six  girls,  instead  of  moving 
as  one  according  to  classic  principle,  are  marvel- 
ously  versed  in  the  art  of  self-expression  and  each 
is  self-conscious  of  her  own  special  grace.  There 
is  no  finer  flower  of  the  glorious  adolescence  of 
European  culture;  but  how  like  a  mirage  is  this 
romanticism  beside  the  power  where  immortal  gods 
order  the  Arts! 

Lesser  than  romantic  are  the  efforts  of  the  Art 
Theatres,  Here  cynicism  and  idealism  find  every 
refinement  of  expression*  To  caricature  and  to 
idealize  are  both  disparaging  interpretations  of 
reality,  and  produce  the  powerful  evil — realism. 
They,  in  the  service  of  this  master,  seek  to  repro- 
duce the  surface  of  life — thinking  effect  to  be  the 
highest  achievement  of  man  and  powerful  as  life 
itself.  To  them  one  theme  is  as  worthy  as  another 
for  significant  presentation,  in  that  life  is  every- 
where. But  who  can  speak  divine  prayers  to  a 
god  to  whom  he  is  not  pledged  by  the  strongest 
devotion?  To  the  world  the  theme  may  mean 
nothing,  but  to  the  artist  it  must  be  all  things  before 


his  lips  can  utter  a  moving  verse*  The  art  theatres 
of  Europe  are  rich  in  talent  and  serious  effort,  but 
they  revolve  about  a  dark  sun*  What  play  is  to  a 
group  of  players  what  the  Christian  legend  was  to 
the  Italian  painters?  It  is  no  spiritual  impulse  that 
dictates  the  scrupulous  realistic  performances  of  an 
art  theatre — it  is  rather  the  desire  of  the  materialist 
for  greater  refinements.  All  the  virtue  in  such  per- 
formances, from  the  playwright's  composition  to 
the  actor's  speech,  is  dependent  on  the  virtue 
within  each  separate  personality  concerned,  and 
such  virtue  is  as  uncertain,  as  infrequent,  as  genius* 

What  is  the  European  theatre  to  its  audience? 
Sweets,  bitters,  relaxation,  excitement,  the  com- 
forter of  its  fears  and  doubts,  the  outlet  of  its  thou- 
sand extraneous  energies,  the  expression  of  every 
functional,  social,  and  spiritual  disorder  of  the  com- 
munity* Thus  it  is  a  river  of  impurity;  though  in 
the  hands  of  geniuses  it  may  be  touched  with  light, 
for  the  genius,  an  apparition  of  aspiring  humanity, 
indicates  the  distant  perfection* 


China 


THE  THEATRE  IN  THE  EAST 

N  the  East  the  theatre  even  now  pre- 
serves much  of  its  ancient  tradition. 
The  structure  and  wisdom  here  so 
powerfully  evident  prove  beyond  ques- 
tion that  the  unanimous  spiritual  activity  of  a  whole 
race  produces  forms  as  irrefutable  as  perfect  en- 
gineering: beside  which  the  slight  and  peculiar  edi- 
fices of  Art,  the  individual's  aspiration,  tremble  on 
a  most  arbitrary  foundation. 

The  Eastern  actor  is  such  by  caste  and  heredity, 
and  he  enters  upon  his  education  in  early  child- 
hood: it  includes  all  the  arts  of  speech,  song  and 
dance,  since  the  drama  makes  use  of  these,  and  the 
actor  must  therefore  also  be  dancer  and  singer. 

The  language  of  the  dance  is  as  fixed  and  search- 
ing as  the  spoken  language  of  the  race.  Just  as  the 
writer  does  not  invent  words,  so  the  dancer  does  not 
invent  gestures:  he  does  not  compose  the  dance,  or 
in  any  way  affect  its  scheme,  which  has  been  ex- 
pounded in  the  Scriptures.  Here  nothing  is  re- 
quired of  the  dancer  but  physical  obedience:  how- 


V 


ever  heated  a  scene,  every  quiver  of  the  hand,  and 
the  subtlest  facial  expressions  are  the  result  of  obe- 
dience to  precise  rules.  The  actor  never  steps  into 
his  part  and  feels  it  for  himself:  such  an  intrusion 
of  personality  would  at  once  mar  the  spectacular 
and  rhythmic  character  of  the  performance*  Hence 
the  unassailable  poise  of  the  Oriental  actor,  who  is 
cool  and  impersonal  in  the  midst  of  the  most  pas- 
sionate action:  expressing  whatever  is  required 
without  consuming  his  own  soul  by  emotion,  he  is 
inexhaustible. 

The  Eastern  theatre  exists  for  the  great  drama,  the 
epic  peculiar  to  each  race,  which  contains  within 
itself  the  law  that  it  be  spoken,  sung  and  danced  in 
public  for  the  spiritual  enlightenment  of  the  com- 
munity. The  players  regard  themselves  as  mes- 
sengers for  the  clear  and  correct  delivery  of  a  divine 
word.  In  India,  the  actor  who  starts  his  perform- 
ance without  having  prayed  is  condemned  in  the 
scripture  as  'Vulgar/'  and  the  audience  witnessing 
such  sacrilegious  exhibitions  falls  under  a  heavy 
curse. 

It  is  not  for  the  acquisition  of  special  graces  and 

8 


facility  that  the  dancer  studies  all  his  life:  it  is  for 
a  knowledge  of  the  enormous  literature  of  his  voca- 
tion. From  childhood  the  epic  is  his  sole  spiritual 
and  practical  education,  and  in  thus  fixing  directly 
on  the  source  and  goal  of  his  task,  he  achieves 
mastery  without  effort — as  a  bird  learns  flight 
Thus  it  is  possible  for  children  as  young  as  eight 
or  nine  years  to  demean  themselves  on  the  stage 
with  the  authority  and  power  of  sages,  to  perform 
their  parts  in  every  way  perfectly,  so  that  no  one 
can  for  an  instant  consider  them  "children/'  This 
is  not  rare  in  China,  and  such  cases  are  not  re- 
garded as  precocious  or  extraordinary  anywhere 
in  the  East*  It  may  be  said  that  every  actor-dancer 
in  an  Eastern  community  has  a  control  of  his 
medium  that  would  put  to  shame  the  technique 
of  the  one  or  two  heralded  talents  that  spring  up 
in  a  century  of  the  European  theatre. 

In  India  or  China  the  multiplication  table  and 
books  of  philosophy  can  be  danced.  For  here  the 
theatre  has  a  vocabulary  embracing  every  conceiv- 
able form  of  thought.  In  a  system  so  highly 
evolved,  it  is  impossible  for  a  stranger  to  read  the 
meaning  behind  the  symbolization.    For  example, 


a  Chinese  performance  is  so  essentially  formal  that 
the  movement  of  the  plot  cannot  be  detected  by  the 
stranger,  nor  can  he  know  what  emotions  are  being 
nor  can  he  know  what  emotions  are  being  ex- 
pressed. The  slight  movement  of  a  finger  may  be 
a  sign  of  great  passion  or  indication  of  a  whole 
train  of  events  important  to  the  story.  This  is 
more  or  less  so  throughout  the  East,  and  it  is  often 
only  by  the  superb  calm  vigor  of  an  actor's  man- 
ner that  one  senses  how  solemn  an  inspiration  lies 
behind  his  performance.  ^ 

That  Oriental  dancing  and  pantomime  which  find 
such  extravagant  patronage  on  the  Western  stage 
is  the  most  grotesque  misconstruction  of  the  true 
thing.  Whatever  is  personal,  sexual  and  gaudy 
has  a  fitting  expression  in  the  sinuous  gyration  of 
the  "Oriental  dancer/'  Moreover,  so  little  resem- 
blance does  it  bear  to  anything  Eastern  that  one 
wonders  how  it  got  its  name.  Where  there  is 
religious  background  and  philosophic  structure  in  the 
Eastern  performance,  there  is  here  a  blind  ambi- 
tion for  effect:  the  certainty  and  masterly  grace  of 
the  Eastern  dancer,  who  forgets  herself  entirely  in 

JO 


Java 


Java 


Cambodia 


Cambodia 


the  meanings  she  embodies,  are  here  replaced  by 
vague  undulations  and  a  calculated  enhancement  of 
the  body  and  its  peculiar  style  of  action.  In  these 
realms  the  highest  virtue  is  a  detached  and  special 
decorative  sense,  a  flair  for  design  in  rhythm,  color 
and  line,  and  such  a  talent  is  the  root  and  flower  of 
personality.  But  even  this,  and  genius,  are  idols 
that  are  made  out  of  a  strong  egoism  and  can  never 
attain  to  that  pure  energy  which  is  the  fruit  of  the 
profoundest  selflessness* 

The  Ramayana  and  Mahabharata  are  the  inex- 
haustible springs  of  light  which  have  for  centuries 
illumined  the  life  of  India.  These  epics  reveal 
every  worldly  and  spiritual  experience  possible  to 
man,  through  the  sublimest  imagery.  The  modern 
Indian  Nautch  relates  the  adventures  and  activities 
of  Krishna,  and  is  a  dance  highly  philosophic  in 
essence  and  esoteric  in  form. 

The  Javanese  theatre  is  almost  wholly  built  on 
Indian  tradition  and  makes  use  of  the  Indian  epics. 
But  here  the  theatre  is  not  so  severely  a  sign  lan- 
guage, and  emotions  and  actions  may  be  recognized 
by  reason  of  the  greater  expressiveness  of  the  ges- 


tures  employed*  In  the  shadow  theatre  of  Java 
there  exists  a  form  of  drama  in  its  finest  purity. 
Here  one  discovers  the  keynote  to  the  essential 
behavior  of  every  Oriental  actor — the  submissive- 
ness  and  complete  impersonality  of  a  puppet.  In- 
deed, it  is  his  conscious  wish  to  be  a  puppet  in  the. 
hands  of  a  divine  overlord.  While  the  shadow 
show  achieves  the  splendor  and  grip  of  a  living 
thing,  the  human  dancer  is  true  to  his  part, 
and  infallible  as  a  well  managed  puppet.  In  such 
a  state  of  mind  it  needs  neither  thought  nor  effort 
to  respond  to  the  demands  made  upon  him,  how- 
ever severe  and  complicated. 

In  Cambodia  it  is  quite  possible  for  the  stranger  to 
follow  a  story  told  in  the  theatre.  The  fighting  of 
a  battle  is  performed  by  a  fencing  of  swords,  and 
the  love  of  hero  and  heroine  is  easily  read  in  their 
gestures,  looks  and  tones. 

Bali  has  a  kind  of  pantomime  more  akin  to  pure 
dancing  than  elsewhere  in  the  East.  Here  are  seen 
child  dancers  highly  brilliant  and  supple  in  move- 
ment. Trained  from  the  age  of  seven  to  twelve, 
these  little  girls  then  dance  in  the  theatre  till  they  are 

J2 


Bali 


sixteen,  after  which  they  are  relegated  to  the  palace 
of  their  local  prince,  and  thenceforth  never  seen  again 
in  public*  In  their  short  course  of  study  they  achieve 
a  skill  that  is  most  astounding — and  again,  it  is 
obvious  that  such  skill  cannot  be  acquired  by  delib- 
erate practice,  but  falls  naturally  into  the  hands  of 
those  who  are  devoted  to  a  high  and  fixed  spiritual 
ideal* 

It  is  not  for  skilful  execution  that  the  scientist  labors, 
yet  the  products  of  science  are  by  far  more  finished 
in  every  case  than  the  work  of  the  greatest  and 
most  painstaking  artist*  For  in  devotion  to  a 
super-personal  and  superhuman  theme,  the  grace 
of  Nature  herself  may  be  acquired,  but  in  the 
search  for  a  personal  and  human  grace  nothing 
can  accrue  but  our  own  limitations* 


J3 


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